Microsoft "keeping an eye" on BlackBerry

According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft is still "keeping an eye on BlackBerry." Many observers believed BlackBerry's hopes to being acquired by Microsoft were dashed when MIcrosoft announced its $7 billion acquisition of Nokia. Bloomberg's Matthew Campbell and Aaron Kirchfeld have a different take however.

Meanwhile, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is keeping an eye on BlackBerry Ltd., the people said. The Canadian manufacturer has said itís seeking a buyer, and its strong presence in the enterprise market could still attract interest from Microsoft, they said.

BlackBerry stock was up slightly today even after some observers expressed negative views in the wake of the MIcrosoft/Nokia deal.

Why would Microsoft purchase BlackBerry? Perhaps for patents, or simply to buy enterprise customers. BlackBerry is a different animal than what most of the mobile world is doing today. The BlackBerry keyboard is still key for many users around the world. If BlackBerry were to stop making handsets that included the tactile keyboard they would almost certainly lose a huge number of customers.